1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an identification card reading apparatus for use in an identification card system in which a person using the card is identified by information recorded on the card, and a method of using such an apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Known card-type information recording media include magnetic cards, IC cards, and optical cards.
A magnetic card has a magnetic recording portion on or from which information may be magnetically recorded or reproduced. The recording capacity of a magnetic card is about several dozen bits. Magnetic cards are presently widely used because they are cheap and convenient.
However, magnetic cards have some problems such as low security as they are easy to forge. These problems recently have become a social problem.
Identification cards which have high security are now drawing public attention. In general, IC cards have an IC portion in which is embedded a CPU, ROM, RAM or EEPROM which is electrically erasable. It is thus possible to electrically record and/or reproduce the information. The memory capacity of an IC card is about 8K bytes. Although an IC card is more expensive than a magnetic card, it is expected to become popular because of its higher security.
Optical cards have an optical recording portion enabling the information to be optically recorded and/or reproduced. In spite of being a write-once-type medium from which the recorded information cannot be erased, it is thought to have a wide range of applications because it has a very large memory capacity, typically about several mega bytes, and is cheap.
Because an optical card is very portable and the memory capacity is large, it can be used as an identification card. When the optical card is used as an identification card, the optical card is printed with identification information, such as the name of the card owner, a picture of the face of the card owner, etc., on the surface of the card opposite to the surface on which is embedded the optical recording portion. Digital information corresponding to the identification information is recorded in the optical recording portion. It is thus possible to indicate on the display of a reading apparatus for reproducing information from the card, the identification information recorded on the optical card.
Where a picture is recorded as digital data, if the image size is 80 dots wide and 80 dots long with the image in a bit map form, a recording area of about 18K bytes must be used. Such an amount of information is impossible to record in current magnetic recording media. As a result, an optical card is most suitable for use as an identification card.
Recently, as a result of attention to the larger memory capacity of optical cards and to the higher security of IC cards, an optical-IC card in which is embedded both an optical recording portion and an IC portion has been developed.
In a conventional system, an identification card recorded with identification information including a representation of the face of the card holder is inserted in a reading apparatus, and a picture of the face of the card holder appears on a display screen. When the card is removed from the apparatus, the picture disappears from the screen and the screen gives instructions for the insertion of the next card.
Although identification is possible by comparing a picture of the face of the card holder printed on the card with the actual card holder, it is not possible to trust this because it is easy to forge the picture printed on the card. On the other hand, an optical card is very difficult to forge because if the information on the optical card is rewritten, a vestige of the original information remains on the optical card.
Therefore, identification is preferably carried out by comparing the face of the card holder, the picture of the face printed on the card, and the picture of the face shown on the display. By this method, it is possible to determine whether the picture printed on the card is forged. As a result, it is possible to make an identification card system having very high security.
However, in such a conventional system, when an official identifies the card holder, because the optical card is inserted inside the reading apparatus, the official cannot compare the picture of a face printed on the optical card with the face of the card holder. Also, if the official discharges the optical card from the apparatus, because the display is generally rewritten with a message, for example, instructing the next user to insert a card, the official cannot compare the face of the card holder, the picture printed on the card, and the picture shown on the display at the same time.
It is an object of the invention to at least alleviate the above problem. In particular, an object is to supply an identification card reader for use in an identification card system in which in appropriate cases it is possible to check the face of the card holder against the picture printed on the card and the picture shown on a display based on information recorded on the card at the same time.
According to the present invention, there is provided an identification card reader for use in an identification card system in which a card holder is identified utilizing identification information recorded on a card, comprising:
means for reproducing the recorded identification information;
a display means for producing a visual indication of the reproduced identification information; and
a discharging mechanism for discharging the identification card from the card reader. Furthermore,
after the card is discharged from the card reader, the display is arranged to continue to display at least part of the indication of the reproduced identification information.